"Elusive justice in the death chamber," is the title of a Dallas Morning News editorial, today.
Powell's three-decade stay on Death Row also draws into question the legal requirement that jurors must find that a defendant possesses "future dangerousness." Powell's attorneys argue that since he has been a model prisoner with a record of helping others behind bars, jurors reached the wrong conclusion on the threat he poses.
If the death penalty erases no real threat and fails as a deterrent, it serves no purpose other than retribution.
There is no debate that Powell's crime was a cruel act and he should pay an extraordinarily high price. Today, jurors have an option that juries didn't in Powell's three trials: life without the possibility of parole. Essentially, that's a sentence of death by prison, a punishment that better fits his crime.
Sissy Farenthold writes the OpEd, "Should we kill David Lee Powell?" It appears in today's Austin American-Statesman.
There is an alternative to the death penalty provided by the principles of restorative justice. Instead of seeking retribution through execution, restorative justice addresses the effects of a crime on victims, offenders and communities. It focuses on prevention of future crimes and reparations for harm done to victims in order to lead the transgressor toward positive change while fostering healing in all those touched by crime.
Restorative justice promotes respect for human life with the conviction that no one is irredeemable.
Powell's case is an appropriate case for restorative justice.
Powell has demonstrated his remorse and humanity by living a redemptive life for three decades. He has taught illiterate inmates how to read, write and improve their lives. He had no history of violence before his crime and none in his 32 years on death row. And he has expressed his deep remorse to Ablanedo's family.
Restorative justice calls for Powell to be spared so that he can continue to address the needs and concerns of the Ablanedo family and the prison community in which he lives.
Executing Powell will do nothing to deter other murderers. It will do nothing to restore the loss suffered by the Ablanedo family. To the contrary, it will end any possibility of restorative work Powell could continue to do.
The death penalty is on its way out. Since Powell was sentenced to death, 70 nations have abandoned the death penalty; three states in the United States have abandoned it; and the rate of death sentences is decreasing.
Justice should be based on laws and principle, not rage and revenge. Join me in advocating for restorative justice and an end to the death penalty.
"Appeals court declines to halt Powell execution," is the Statesman news article written by Chuck Lindell and Tony Plohetski.
In his final state appeal, filed last week, Powell had asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to replace his death sentence with a life term in prison, arguing that jurors inaccurately predicted that he was a future danger to society. To impose the death penalty, jurors must find that a defendant poses a continuing threat to commit violence.
Seven of the court's nine members rejected Powell's request without ruling on its merits, with Judges Paul Womack and Cheryl Johnson not participating. Instead, the court declined to accept the appeal, ruling that it violated a state law that limits death row inmates to one application for a writ of habeas corpus — unless they unearth information that wasn't available during the first appeal.
Defense lawyer Richard Burr had argued that Powell's exemplary life on death row was new information proving that jurors wrongly concluded that he remained a danger. Because the death sentence was based on inaccurate information, Burr argued, executing Powell would be cruel and unusual punishment and violate his due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.
Within an hour of the court's rejection, Burr filed a petition containing the same arguments with the U.S. Supreme Court. That petition was still pending Monday night.
Earlier coverage begins with this post.
Powell's would be the 13th Texas execution of the year; the state's 460th execution since 1982. Texas has far and away the most active death chamber in America, accounting for more than 37% of the nation's post-Furman executions.
To date, there have been 27 executions in the nation in 2010, and 1,215 executions since 1977.
Houston's KPFT-FM will host Execution Watch on the web and it's HD radio broadcast signal beginning at 6:00 p.m. (CDT), tonight.According to TDCJ, five more executions are scheduled in Texas during 2010, including two more this month. More execution dates will likely be set by state district courts this year.
Karl Keys at Capital Defense Weekly notes execution dates in Texas and other states.
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